Fig. 5
The inhibition of Notch signaling by dnNotch1 diminishes BMP9-induced ectopic bone formation, while exogenous expression of Notch ligands enhances BMP9-induced ectopic bone formation in vivo. a, b Subconfluent iMEF cells were co-infected with AdBMP9 or AdRFP and AdR-dnNotch1, AdR-Dll1, or AdR-Jag1 for 24 h, and collected for subcutaneous injection into the flanks of athymic nude mice. At 4 weeks after implantation, bony masses were retrieved from BMP9 treatment groups while no masses were recovered from the non-BMP9 treatment groups. The retrieved masses were fixed and subjected to µCT imaging (a, panels a–d), and the imaging data were further analyzed for average bone volume (b, panel a) and mean bone density (b, panel b). **p < 0.001. c Histological and special staining. The retrieved masses were fixed, decalcified and subjected to H & E staining (a) and Trichrome staining (b). Representative results are shown
